System for transmitting motion to the driving wheels of motor cars



May 17, 1932. eye. 5. VON HILVETY 1,353,647

SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING MOTION TO THE DRIVING WHEELS OF MOTOR CARS FiledNov. 24. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6', Von Ni/v24 Wad 1M May 17,- 1932. G.c. s. voN HILVETY 1,358,647

SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING MOTIDN TO THE DRIVING WHEELS OF MOTOR CARS Filed Nov. 24, 1930 g Sheets-Sheet 2 5K H I 60 5 Q l I l fii=4\\ 3 gflPatented May 17, 1932 owner) PATENT;

GEORGE CAROL SCH'ULE vdiv nIL'vIiTY, or iaUeNos mites, ARGEniINAfsi's'mnm FOR- mmmme MoTioN To TH-E DRiViNG wnntis oi Mamba cans mutateiie'a smitten, 1530. serial to. least.

- entia'ls and p ei'mits obtaining a normal transmission to the drivingWheels under any condition'of running. j

Another object of the invention is the use of cornpi essed air forperforming the sevhe invention e tire-any consists in ebfu' plin o1-uncoupling each driving wheel to the new axle eans of a clutch mountedon each whee axle and adapted to engage with, 01' disengage froni thebevel crown driven by the bevel pinion inounte ontl'ife drive shaft,Said tw'b clutches areeifate'cl from the steering mechanism, "so thatwhen the Vehicle advances in an apprise;

- finely straight direction; j oth wheel will be drivingwheel's and willdea's ep emera spe'e'ol whi1e, wl1en the vehicle isjtaking a curve, oneof the Wheels will be" disengaged.

A neutralizing deviceis provided whi'gh, allowsof rendering the clutchesindependent friim the direction, in b de: to be able to 'engage ordisengage at will an one of the wheels, which arrangement t'vill befound useful in certain cases; I Y,

Thejcontr'ol of the clutches may be per? firmed in several ays, ither byine'ehanical or electrical mea s; as from the steerin d'iv'ic'e,although according to a preferrd em bodiii'ient', compressed air,obtained from a suitable source mounted o the car, is con- Venientlyused for that purpose. In this latter case, a'set of Valves is e'xii:ployecl, controlled by the steering device and adapted to feed thecompressed air to cylindefs, the pistons of Which operate the clutches:v

In order that the invention maybe readily understood and carried intopractice, the

-; same has been shown, by way of exampm, in

" the accompanying illustrative drawings, in

Which:- V Figure di g emm ti el iew Q1 the rear axle of fanautolnobil'e,constructedin accordanceiwith this invention. H

Figure 2 illustrates 'a general diagram:

maiti'e elevation of the set of, valves or 'cbfeks operated by the'steeiing mechanism and the driver. I Figure 3 shows a longitudinalsection er the nain cock, on the line 3+3 'OfFigureQQ Figure 4 is across section on the line 4l4 o'f Figure 3. H Figure 5 shows alongitudinal section of the neutralizing cock, taken on the line ofFigure 2.

Figure 6 shows a "section on the line "ti- 6 ofFigurei I a [H all thesaid 'vietvs, similar numbers o f referencje have been used to indicatelike 61f pefid par 1 1.

Refer'i' g to Figure l, the refeince numbers l and l in dicate the twohalves of 7 rear axle, which carry the 'drivi'ng Wheels '2 and 2". Theaide iscenteretl on the end 'o'f the axle 1 by means of a stutlB whichrotates in an anti-frictionsleeife 4, lining the central bore otf'thecorresponding aisle 1" 0n the'end of the axle 1 is jou'rnalled, "withinterposition of an antiffrictibn sleeve an bevel geart, prevented fromsliiftin rin a longi tudinal direction on said aide 76 'nieansofshoulders 7, fixed on the axle 1', Inengagementwitli'said bevel gear isthe bevel "in ion 8, secured by means of apinto the end i of the drivingaxle 9. In this 'cliagraiiimatica-l view,th'e bearings of the axle havenot been shown, as they'may he of any suitable or'clesire'clconstruction. v 1

On either face of the Wheel 6 is fornied a conical recess 10,for thereception ofclutoli dogs 11, 11, respectively. One of said dogs ismounted oil-each axle 1, 1, tree for lon gitudin'ally sliding thereon,While obliging the, axle to partake in its r0tati0n. -Suiton a suitablepart of the axle bearings, one

cylinder being provided for each clutch. Said cylinders are convenientlyconnected to the controlling cocks or valves by means of a conduit 26,adapted for supplying compressed air to said cylinder or for connectingthe same for exhaust to the outer air.

When the cylinders are in communication with the outer air, the springs12 will cause the clutch dogs 11 to engage with the wheel 6, so as torender the two driving wheels integral one with the other and causingthe same to rotate withthe same speed. On supplying compressed air toone of said cylinders, the corresponding piston will overcome theresistance of the spring 12 and thereby disengage the respective axle,causing the driving wheel of that side of the car to rotate freely,while the wheel. of "the opposite side will remain engaged. I v

In Figures 2 to 6, the operating mechanism of the clutches has beenshown, which, as before stated, forms an integral part with the steeringdevice. 21 indicates the steering col umn, in which rotates the steeringrod which 7 operates, by means of a worm and a toothed sector mounted ina casing 22, the arm 23,

V by which the displacements of the steering 3 tors 'corresponds with asmall displacement rod are finally transmitted 'to the front wheels. Inthe present construction, the movements of the axle 24 of said arm areused for operating the main cock by means of which the cylinders 20 areplaced in communication with the source of compressed air. or with theouter air, as the case may be. Said cock comprises a fixed casing 25,connected to both conduits 26 leading to the cylinders,

and to the tube 27, leading to the compressed air supply (not shown),and a conical rotatory part 28, formed integral with the axle 24; Thecone 28 rotates within the casing 25, being confined to this latter bymeans of a washer and a screw nut 29. The tube 27 opens into an innerannular groove30 formedin the casing 25, extending approximately'overjone half of the circumference thereof.

The cone 28 is formed with an internal passage 31, opening by one of itsends opposite to said groove, and by its other end into one or the otherof'the chambers 32 or at a point intermediatebetweenthe same, accordingto the angular position imparted by the steering to saidcone. In Figures3 and 4, the full lines indicate the medium position of the cone, inwhich the passage 31 is situated between the two chambers 32. Saidchambers 32 are formed in the casing 25, each of them comprising asector, situated symmetrically at each side of the medium position ofthe passage 1. The distance separating both sec of the driving wheelswhich it is necessary to provide for-,Without causing the operation ofthe device, andeach of said sectors has in their medium position, bothchambers will communicate with the outer air, and when the one is placedopposite to the passage 31, r i

the other will communicate with the outer air. I

The ducts 26, leading from the cylinders, pass first by the neutralizingcocks whicheach consist of a casing 35, within which rotates a cone 36operated by a hand lever 37 placed Within reach of the driver. The duct26 enters and issues from the casing 35 at diametrically opposite pointsand when in a certain position, the cone 36f establishes thecommunication by means of the passage 38. In another position of thecone'36, the en trance of the duct 26, in direction toward the maincock, willbe obturated, while the. part of the duct 26 leading to thecylinder, will come opposite to 'a passage 39 of said cone, so as toconnect the same with the outer air.

The casing 35 is also connected, ata point situated at right angles withregard to the duct 26, with a conduit 40, leading directly" to thesource of compressed air. Said conduit may be arranged to communicatewith the duct 26, leading to the cylinder, by means of a passage 41,formed in the cone'36. From the foregoing it will be seen that thiscockis adapted for operation in three positions.

The operation of thedevice in accordance and both driving wheels willtherefore re 7 main engaged. Y

When a curveis to be taken, or as soon as the passage 31 will comeopposite to one 1 of the chambers 32, the compressed air supplied by theduct 27, will enter into the conduit 26 and thence passto thecorresponding 1 cylinder. The piston19 of said cylinder, on

being operated, will disengage the dog ll" from the bevel gear 6,against the action of the spring 12, thereby allowing of the freerotation of the wheel 2 onthe' corresponding side of the car. The maincock,'wheny occupying this position, willcause the other chamber 32 toplace the other cylinder 20 in communication with the outer air, so thatthe other wheel 2 will remain engaged and act as a driving wheel. Whentaln'ng a curve, therefore, only one of the wheels will act as a drivingwheel and as the outer wheel may be chosen for that purpose, which,owing to centrifugal force, will exert a heavier pressure on the ground,any risk of lateral skidding will be avoided.

These two operations will normally take place when the neutralizingcocks are in their normal positions, with the connection established bythe conduits 26. When it should be necessary to keep both wheels engagedwhile taking a curve, as might arrive to be the case when trying to getout of a bog, the position of said cocks would have to be changed bymeans of the hand lever 37, so as to cause both cylinders 20 tocommunicate with the outer air by means of the passage 39.'

It might also be desired to disengage one of the wheels independently ofthe position of the steering mechanism, in which case the handle of thecorresponding neutralizing cock must be operated so as to connect theconduit 40 with the duct 26, leading to the cylinder through the passage41. This latter cylinder will then be supplied directly with compressedair and will maintain the corresponding wheel in a disengaged position,independently of the operations of the steering mechanism.

It will be evident that sundry modifications of construction and detailmay be introduced without departing from the scope of this invention,which will be particularly set forth in the final claim hereto annexed.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

Improved system for transmitting motion to the driving wheels of motorcars, substantially comprising a clutch for each driving wheel, whichallows of engaging or disen gaging said wheel or its axle from the driveshaft, and means for operating said clutches, operated from the steeringmechanism, the means for operating the clutches comprising, inconnection with each clutch, a cylinder with a piston for operating saidclutch, a cock arranged to cooperate with the displacements imparted tothe steering mechanism and adapted, when in its medium positioncorresponding with an advance on a straight line, for connecting saidcylinders with the outerair, so that the pistons will not operate theclutches and these latter will remain engaged, and when in a deviatedposition corresponding with the taking of a curve, for connecting one ofsaid cylinders with a compressed air supply and the other with the outerair, or .vice-versa, whereby the piston acted upon by the air, willoperate its clutch and cause the free rotation of the respective drivingwheel, while the other wheel will remain engaged, and a neutralizingcock for each cylinder, operated by hand or otherwise, for interruptingat will the connection between the cylinder and the first mentioned cockand establish the communication with the outer air, so that therespective driving wheel will remain engaged, independently of themovements of the steering mechanism, or establish a direct connectionwith the compressed air supply, so that said wheel will remain engagedindependently of the movements of the steering mechanism.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GEORGE CAROL SCHI lLE von HILVETY.

